CUSMA Info

How CUSMA Helps You Save on Duties When Ordering from Canada

At Grin Technologies, we’re proud to design and manufacture many of our products right here in Canada. If you're a customer based in the United States or Mexico, you may be eligible to skip import duties altogether thanks to the CUSMA agreement. Let’s break it down for you.

What is CUSMA?

CUSMA stands for the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (also known as USMCA in the U.S. and T-MEC in Mexico). This trade agreement allows products manufactured in any of the three countries to be imported duty-free into the others. That means if you're in the U.S. or Mexico and ordering eligible items made by Grin in Canada, such as Grin Motors, Baserunner Controllers, or LiGo Batteries, you shouldn’t have to pay any import duties.

So Why Are Some Customers Still Being Charged Duties?

Good question. Due to the recent tariff wars and rapidly changing customs regulations, there’s been a lot of confusion, especially for customs brokers. Couriers like FedEx, UPS, or DHL often act as your customs broker by default when they handle our shipment. Their goal is to clear packages as quickly as possible, and they may overlook or ignore CUSMA eligibility during the process.

As a result, we’ve seen some of our customers unfairly charged duties on products that should be duty-free under CUSMA.

What You Need to Know as the Importer

Ultimately, it’s the importer’s responsibility (that’s you!) to ensure that CUSMA is requested during customs clearance. If this step is skipped, duties may be charged even on Canadian-made goods.

To help with this, we’re doing our part by providing a Pre-Filled Certificate of Origin.

Download Certificate of Origin

CUSMA Certificate

This is the official document required to apply the CUSMA preferential tariff treatment to your shipment. We’ve already pre-filled all the relevant details from Grin Technologies.

The only fields you’ll need to complete are:

Your name and contact information (as the importer)
The date of submission

Important: Once your form is completed, keep it easily accessible. As soon as you receive the tracking information for your shipment, you’ll need to submit the Certificate of Origin directly through the courier’s website (e.g., FedEx, UPS, DHL). This step must be done before the package reaches customs, so timely submission is essential. Each courier typically has an online portal where you can upload documentation or make a request to apply CUSMA. Be proactive! Delays in submitting the certificate can result in duties being charged on your shipment.

Some couriers might also ask you to submit a Limited Power of Attorney (POA) form so they can act as your broker and apply CUSMA on your behalf. This is especially common with UPS and DHL.

What About Small Orders?

Good news! The US has a de minimis exemption that allows orders under $800 to generally enter duty free. However, currently this does not apply to any items that originate in China or Hong Kong. Motors from Bafang, Nine Continent, Shengyi etc. are all made in China and will have duties applied regardless of order value.

Final Thoughts

The overall trade rules with the US are in constant flux and may be subject to change on (a certain someone's) whim. But we will do our best to share the most current information we have available.

At Grin, we care about transparency and making sure our customers aren’t paying more than they should. That’s why we’re sharing this information and making tools like the Certificate of Origin readily available.

We encourage you to:

Review your shipment details
Ensure your courier or broker applies CUSMA properly
Reach out to us if you have any questions or need the certificate in advance

We're here to support you in making sure your order crosses the border smoothly and affordably.